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The World
WorldofMu Wiki 'Levels of land' On Mu, nothing moves/behaves like on Earth. Its lands and continents are grouped into layers, each of them being a small world for themselves, with their own phenomenons, beauties and dangers. While most of these rocky masses are arid wastelands where no life as we know it can possibly exist, there are two or more green "spots" between them, harboring a large percentange of the world's sentient races, fauna and flora. Water exists in large ammounts on Mu; it rains and snows almost every day in the lower realms. Sometimes, rains can last for months, some last for years, depending on where you are. But all sentient creatures agree that there are no small, summer sprinkles on Mu. Layer One: The Siderra The Siderrian islands, given name by an ancient human civilization which first discovered them, are the top layer of Mu, streching into space. They are pinkish or white in appearance, elongated and full of spiky structures coming out of them. They orbit the world in chaotic and unstable orbits with large gaps of empty space between them; there is evidence that at some point in Mu's history one of them, possibly even more, crashed into Meridian, leaving behing the structure we today know as the Crater. Today, their orbits seem much more stable, although it is impossible to get an precise map of the layer. The islands have "moons" orbiting them, which are basically small spheres of luminous stones coming in all colors of the rainbow. In such a place without oxygen, bathed in solar radiation and heavy UV beams, there should be no life, right? Well, that's what a human would think... the truth is, the islands have a vast majority of black vegetation covering them, self sustaining magnetic fields and several types of animals such as worms and other creatures that have adapted themselves to the extreme conditions. One theory suggests that the islands have giant caves in them, filled with oxygen and plants with bioluminous organs which provide a small source of light for the strange, alien creatures which supposedly roam these caverns... of course, that is just a theory. Layer Two: Alfar The arid wastes of Alfar are the second-largest layer, but they have the most mass among them all. They are deserts of rock, sand and ash, with harsh winds ripping apart entire parts of the continents away and re-attaching them again to another one. Being here is not very healthy, as you can nearly breathe because of the sand that is being carried through the atmosphere. The ground can collapse anytime, leaving you vulnerable to gravity's non-existant mercy. Some species of cacti which use the wind for transport can be found here, as well as birds, insects and microbes in the sand. Various dead trees scattered around the deserts tell the story of a once green realm full of life and joy. Tales tell of ancient palaces with precious treasure in them buried below the sand, of labyrints of rock with monstrous creatures lurking in them, of rivers of sand, cities of marble, armies of stone, fiery rocks and much more. Layer Three: The Sky For a majority of the races, this is the real sky of the world. It lies below Alfar, and consists of clouds and air, basically, like every other sky. From here, heavy downpours crash on the worlds below. From here water goes, and here water returns, closing the cycle. Its most noticable features are the Big blues, heavy storms of lightnings and never ceasing rain which color the clouds in a rather vivid blue color. They last for years and follow the lands below in their orbits, making them predictable and easy to spot. Like on Earth, there are calmer and harsher regions. Layer four: River Dream No one is really sure what this strange sky-interesecting structure is. It name comes from lycanic shamans, who had first spotted it among the sky, thinking of it as a river rather than a ring of rocks and dust surrounding Meridian. It glows with a eerie blue color during the night and is only visible at that time, giving most scientists a headache. It appears to be regualting the cycle of volcanic rocks which comes drifting from the core, reppeling them back into it and so preventing the planet from loosing heat and materials. It actually goes beyond the Sky, embracing it too, but for some reason the ancient people felt closer to this "river" than to the clouds. In some texts, it is described as the place where souls go when the person is sleeping, and the place where the gods and the spirits live. At some point in Mu's early history, Dream was supposedly a small sphere of luminous stone, similar to the ones orbiting the Siderrian isles. After a collision with a smaller object consisting of rock, it broke into nearly infinite pieces and streched itself around the skies, embracing the first point of gravity it could find. Some say that Dream is the true home of the Immortals, making them more Muian than they were thought to be. Layer Five: Meridian Meridian is the central layer of the world, and for far the most beautiful one. Pleasant for numerous forms of life, the surfaces of its continents are covered in a large percentage of forests and plains, deserts, rocky wastelands, marshes, mountains shaped by rain and wind and arctic regions. It is home to the civilized races of the world: the lycans, the elves, and the humans and of their cities, as it is the home to a number of elemental beings, counting sylphs in large numbers, together with nymphs and gnomes supposedly guarding the fabled regions they call homes. Seas exist deep in the largest continets, but they are shallow, reaching down to nearly 800 meters. Rivers flow, nourished by the rains from above. The fauna and flora are all too numerous to be listed whole, many still being undiscovered and distant. In fact, some lands can appear as alien to the others as if they are two completely different layers! However, because of its natural wonders and variety of living forms, these lands are an eyesore to the cold-hearted demons which are about to free themselves again from the chains of their world. Continent of Loma Loma, on an ancient elvish dialect, literally means "breaking point", or "broken land" in this case. It harbors a vast majority of landscapes, starting with a cold tundra in the north, central forests and plains, continuing with a large desert in the west, the great Crater surrounded by marshes on the north-east, and a sea spreading, as it seems, into eternity on the very east. A large part of the continent is completely unexplored due to the geographical isolation for the most part. It is home to the left-overs of the Elven empire and their hidden cities, human city-states and lycanic tribes, and the home to the main plot. Layer Six: Ogutt It is considered to be the most humid layer of all. In some places, the levels of water in the air are so high that you can't even lit a match, leaving most of the explorers eaten by wild creatures in the dark of the night. The misty skies, covered by the upper continents of Meridian which darken the lands below, have an orange or green color, giving the whole place an even more alien look. The only type of vegetational communities you will find down here are jungles, but in a huge variety of looks. The lack of light transformed much of the vegetation into carnivorous beasts, grabbing insects and larger creatures alike. Some trees evolved too, transforming into true behemoths, giving home to a large community of creatures. The tanekki inhabit these trees, caring about them and harvesting their fruit only to plant them somwhere else. They share this world with the toronos, an agressive and dangerous race of insects inhabiting the pillars of stone, like the ones which connect Loma with the Underworld. Continent of the Underworld The continent below Loma, called like this by its inhabitants, is a large, hot but dark realm covered in a wide variety of jungles, each with its own looks and special fauna and flora. It counts about eleven different jungles currently being explored by teams with better, modern equipments. Layer Seven: Hel An arid, grey wastelan of crippeled islands with no continets. Water eporvates here due to the extreme heats, and these lands are always covered in steam and mist which rises up. A several species' of moss and lichens grow here, but that is about it. Layer Eight: Ring Relic The Relic is much like the Dream, but it is much more dense and consists, as it is believed, of metal ores and heavy elements alike. It embraces the last layer and the End of World, the old lycanic name for the Core. Not much is known about this realm, only that it can't support life in any means. While all the other layers seem to have a purpose, the role which this layer plays is unknown and a speculation among thinkers. Layer Nine: Muspell - Second sky Given name by an ancient human nation placed somewhere on the north of Meridian, this place is a grupation of very heavy gases and dust completely hiding the core from the sight of men. It was dubbed second sky because of the "stars" which shine on its surface like little flames, disappearing and appearing in an instant, being another great mystery to modern science. It is a source of heat on Mu, having large, floating pools of lava captured inside. Sometimes, during the process of the Core called "Seeding" lava spins out of the layer, cooling to volcanic rock, but is quickly repelled back by the Dream. It is said that large fire elementals, or salamanders, inhabit these strange clouds. In some mythologies of people with developed telescopes it is considered the home of demons and giants, but this is incorrect. It is interesting that lycans and elves were completely unaware of its existance before meting with the humans, but knew about the Core. The Core The mythical core of the planet, it is still a subject to much speculations because of it bizzare physics. It is a primal place, having no real temeprature, atomic mass or any means on which it could be detected. The only evidence of its existance is its enormous gravitational power which keeps the world in place. As described by numerous stories and tales, religious testaments and inscriptions, the Core is where the Music of Creation, or as it commonly referred to, the Breath of the World, becomes solid. If it would be possible to track down all the music from the surrounding space and get into the core, it would appear as a imprevious wall of energy, sounds so strong that your head would explode. It is told that even humans could hear those sounds with ease. Sometimes, where there is too much of it, it shoots out into space in a form of a glowing burst of energy: it begins as a bubble of a silverish matter which slowly spins out of Muspell's gases, tearing lava with it as it goes. When it comes in touch with oxygen, it bursts out like a shooting star, symbolically called "The seed of the world". What the consequences might be for the surrounding universe are still speculations, but folks on the higher positioned layers now can predict those outbursts by carefully watching Muspell's clouds and organize special observation parties to admire and enjoy this natural wonder. However, the process is today explained with pure science, killing some of the magic in it. Still, it is said that a kiss happening during one will make the lover's love pure and eternal.